The Texas House tomorrow will consider a proposal to change the state’s signage requirements for bars and businesses.
Despite the seemingly dry subject matter, last month it invited testimony from the Gun Owners of America and gun violence advocacy groups such as Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety.
That’s because it would allow the state to penalize private businesses who don’t want guns on the premises if they use the wrong signs.
Protected locations
Texas has numerous laws and regulations to make it easier for residents of the Lone Star State to own, carry and use firearms.
But it also generally prohibits guns from being carried in certain sensitive places, even by licensed holders, including courtrooms, bars, hospitals, polls and mental health facilities.
There are some exceptions to those bans, and there are several proposals circulating in the House to remove some, or nearly all, of those restrictions. But violating them is a felony, and would prevent a person from voting in Texas if convicted.
The state’s restriction on bars can apply to other businesses that serve liquor, too, if more than 51% of their gross sales receipts are for on-site liquor consumption. That generally excludes most restaurants, liquor stores, gas stations and grocery stores that sell alcohol.
In order to make that prohibition clear to customers, state law also mandates that those bars display a sign that “must give notice in both English and Spanish that it is unlawful for a person licensed under this subchapter to carry a handgun on the premises.” The signs also must include a prominent red “51” to reinforce the tie to alcohol.
That state mandate does not require that those signs indicate explicitly that it is a felony, nor does it explicitly ban other businesses from displaying them.
Still, Texas law allows other businesses to prohibit handguns on their premises under its trespassing law by displaying similar signs. Under those laws, violations carry a much less severe penalty, constituting a Class C Misdemeanor and yielding a fine of no more than $200.
To distinguish between the two kinds of alcohol licenses, some gun industry advocates categorize the businesses as “red sign” and “blue sign” businesses.
The bill
House Bill 3428 would change the law to prohibit “blue sign” businesses from displaying “red signs,” and would give the state the authority to punish businesses that do so.
“Constituents and local activists have raised concerns about certain businesses fraudulently displaying a sign intended for businesses that derive 51 percent or more of their income from the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption,” the bill’s sponsor, Arlington Republican Rep. Tony Tinderholt, explained in his analysis of the policy.
Tinderholt’s proposal would aim to make it easier for citizens to check whether a “blue sign” business is displaying a “red sign,” which can be difficult to determine for businesses that sell alcohol and food.
It would direct the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to create a website listing all of the state’s “red sign” establishments, and would mandate that “red signs” include a phone number for reporting a business that is breaking the new law.
A business breaking that law would face a $1,000 fine for its first offense, but the state would revoke its alcohol license for subsequent violations.
State budget analysts do not expect the bill to carry a significant cost.
Debate
Tinderholt last month testified that he himself before the session found a “blue sign” establishment in Las Colinas displaying a “red sign.” Another member of the public, Gary Zimmerman, testified that he had witnessed it too, at that same April 14 meeting of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs.
“At least in the Arlington, Texas … area, I know of at least four or five businesses that intentionally put up a 51% sign because the business owner does not want us to carry,” said Zimmerman.
And at that same meeting, Emily Taylor, speaking on behalf of herself and of Gun Owners of America, alleged without elaboration that “there are city council people in Houston who actually distribute the red signs to locations that they know are not red sign locations. They do this in order to limit firearms unlawfully and against the laws of the state of Texas.”
House Bill 3428 “would stop that behavior,” Taylor explained. “This does not change our existing gun laws in the slightest. It does not expand carry for anyone. This is a matter of, ‘Is someone going to be confused because a business has been given the wrong sign?’”
Without changing the law, she argued, a licensed gun owner could be arrested and be forced to spend money on an attorney without cause.
Proponents of the bill during that meeting did not discuss whether the change could penalize business owners who misunderstand the state’s signage laws. At least one critic of the measure framed the change as another hoop for business owners to comply with.
“HB 3428 flies in the face of Governor [Greg] Abbott’s claims that he wants to slash burdensome rules, fees, and regulations,” said Karin Knapp, a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
